Hold Your Horses, There's a Storm in my Teacup
by KTSpree13
Summary: From the moment he touched Gungnir, Loki knew he never wanted to let it go. It was a battle he would fight for the rest of his life. For those unprepared, the powers of the Allfather can be addictive. When you add infinity stones, things can get even worse. Life lessons are hard to learn, & when the Allfather wants to give you the task of ruling the nine, how do you say no?
1. Chapter 1

Hello all! I'm smack dab in the middle of writing a MONSTER of a chapter for It's All Coming Back to Me, and this idea just curls up into my brain and won't let go. I started writing it yesterday and thought I'd get maybe 2,000 words and be done with it. Well, 5,000 words later, I have the first part of what was supposed to be a one-shot, and has turned itself into a double-tap. ;) So, I've already started on chapter two. It shouldn't take too long to finish this one. But, I hope you enjoy! I wrote the poem that starts this chapter off, and will include a new one for the next chapter. If you have a chance, I'd love to know what you thought of this! :)

Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine, nor any dialog that appears from the movies. Not for profit.

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The roads we hoe are long and low

The battles we fight nearly never feel right.

My brother, my enemy

My enemy, my friend

Mountains surround us

Forests between us

Deep waters within

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The first time it happened, Loki wasn't prepared for the rush of power that flowed into him the moment he gripped Gungnir. When the priest handed over Odin's staff, he never wanted to let go. Sitting on the throne added an extra boost to the feeling, and it became an addiction. When he wasn't holding Gungnir, it was in a pocket dimension, feeding him the power he craved. When he visited Thor, he had miniaturized Gungnir and placed it in the pocket of his shirt, close to his heart. Of course Thor couldn't come home! How could he ever give this up? He felt good, strong, like he finally belonged in Asgard. He finally had a place there, a purpose; and no one was going to take that away from him. With this power, he could almost forget he was Jotun. Everyone wanted to take it from him, though. Sif, the Warriors Three, Heimdall, his biological father, even his own brother. Loki had to fight them all, and destroy any threats. The power was his to command. It belonged with him.

Loki knew the moment Odin awoke from the Odinsleep. The power he had fought so fiercely for left him just as suddenly as it had come to him, for it knew its true master. And when he was left dangling over the Void, staring up into his father's eyes…

"I could have done it, Father! For you…for all of us!" _I could have mastered the power, over time. I could have made a great king… If only you had told me what it would be like. I could have prepared._

Odin's face reflected sadness and regret. The powers of the Allfather were a burden to pass only to those ready and prepared to take them. He regretted leaving his youngest son unprepared and felt sad at how the power had consumed him. No, Loki hadn't been ready, and it was his own fault. "No, Loki," he whispered. But the next words got caught in his throat. _It's all my fault._ Odin swallowed.

And instead of staying to fight his addiction, Loki let go. Instead of battling through his craving for Odin's power, he chose to cut himself off from the source. It was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. As he hurtled through the Void, all he could think about was how good it had felt to be king.

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Thanos knew about his addiction. Loki didn't know how he had arrived at his sanctuary, nor how the Mad Titan knew, but, all the same, he knew what Loki craved, and used that against him. Loki shivered in the cold, only thinking of the power just beyond his reach. His teeth chattered and he fixated on the memory of a golden throne and a long, slender staff. He hadn't been there long before Thanos offered him a different sort of staff. This one also held power; lots of it. Loki's mouth watered at the thought, but his mind still hungered for Gungnir. He couldn't touch this one. It would be a betrayal.

Every day, the temptation was brought forth before him. The choice was always his. Take the staff, or be comforted by his memories alone. For the first few weeks, Loki dreaded these hours. They were hours, weren't they? He felt like it was hours that he sat, huddled in a ball, forcing himself not to touch, but unable to look away from the comforting blue glow. In reality, they gave him twenty minutes, at most, just to see what he'd do. Thanos knew it was working when Loki would continue to stare at where the staff had been for hours on end. His little princeling never said anything, but he wanted the scepter, and he would take it, eventually.

After a month, Loki started to stretch out on the ground, reaching towards the scepter, but never touching it. _You're not Gungnir,_ he lamented. _I don't want your purpose._ It felt good to be close to that glowing blue light. Thanos watched carefully as Loki's shakes became worse, his appetite dwindled, and his distance from the scepter lessened. He wanted the power it promised. He just needed more convincing. Thanos moved to crouch next to Loki's prone form. He stroked his hair.

"The scepter will comfort you, my little prince. Why don't you make yourself feel better and just take it?" he prompted. Loki whined.

"I don't want your purpose," he whispered, trying to draw back from Thanos and the scepter. But he stared and stared and stared into its blue light.

By the end of the month, Loki would crawl towards the Other when he went to lock the scepter away. Thanos would sit by Loki for hours after that, talking about his vision for the universe and encouraging Loki to eat. Even the food contained suggestions to accept the scepter's will. Loki would just lay next to him, unable to move, one shaky hand stretched towards the direction the scepter was taken.

"I don't want your purpose," he'd whisper, over and over. Each day his mantra became fainter and fainter.

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After six months of being with Thanos, Loki was all but curled around the scepter for the hour a day they let him have it. He would whisper to it, hopefully, "Let's think of a new purpose together." When they took it away, he cried. It felt like years until it came back to him again. Eventually, Thanos became dissatisfied with his constant attempt to change the scepter's will to his own. He punished Loki, refusing him any contact with the scepter. By the third day, Loki could scarcely breathe, he needed to see it so badly. When the scepter was placed in his outstretched hands, he promised to obey.

Now, the scepter never left his side, and he cried for himself. _What have I become?_ his mind wailed. Thanos watched with keen, appreciative eyes as Loki turned away from his boyish innocence, all for the chance to have the power of the mind stone by his side. And he was greatly pleased with his depth of need for it. He would learn to never let it out of his sight before Thanos sent him to Earth. Loki slept less and less, staying awake to listen to the call from the infinity gem. He gathered his strength from it alone, forsaking food and water, more and more often. In this, Thanos took pity. He needed a strong warrior, not a weak junkie.

Once again, Thanos sat by Loki as he cradled the scepter in his arms. He petted his hair as Loki rocked back and forth, high on the energy flagging from the staff he clung to. Taking the scepter from him, he calmed Loki, making him drink and forcing him to eat. Loki barely recognized his captor anymore, so enthralled was he. Thanos did this for several weeks until Loki, once again, was strong enough to fight. Then, Thanos spoke his plan to the mind gem and Loki accepted his new purpose with great fervor.

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His new scepter was different from Gungnir. It didn't have a name, for it only knew power and purpose. Loki decided to call it "Dróttinn," meaning master. It showed him great and terrible things about the universe and molded his mind to want what it wanted. The innocence he had still clung to in Asgard left him and he emerged from his time on Thanos' sanctuary the crazed killer his scepter needed him to be. Dróttinn had even taught him how to seek it out if they should ever become separated, though Loki couldn't imagine ever letting go. "Never, Dróttinn," he would murmur. The answering wave of power comforted Loki.

The next thing Dróttinn taught him was how to look in the minds of others and enslave them to their own will. When he reached Earth, this was his first task, though he made sure to choose the best, kindest, most sensible candidates he could find. He had a choice, in the end. He could have the big man with all the power and codes of a great agency behind him, but a dark, cold heart; or he could have the keen, trained assassin who knew when to kill and when to spare, who cared for others. A man who cared mattered more to him, he decided, than the power behind the cold heart. Dróttinn was not so sure. When they had escaped with the cube Dróttinn wanted, he whispered over and over "The hawk man will be good, you will see."

And he was good. Hawk man held the scepter with respect. He helped Loki to focus on staying strong and completing the mission, even when all he wanted was to curl up with Dróttinn and hide its power away from anyone who might try to take it. Hawk man made him bathe, which he had not done in many months. He forced him to sleep, which he had not taken the time for in weeks. Yes, Loki had made the right choice. Dróttinn would see, he was sure.

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The first time Loki lost Dróttinn, he was able to handle the separation. They were going to the same place, after all. They had so much as been told that by the silly heroes they had let themselves be captured by. He also sent out frequent pulses to it to calm himself at how close it was. D _róttinn, I am here._ He'd receive an answering pulse every time. He even noticed Dróttinn acting on its own, attempting to convert their target to their side.

The second time he lost his scepter was the last time he saw Dróttinn, and he was not coping well. He flung himself off the tall Stark building, flew erratically around the city, didn't even notice the explosive attached to the arrow the hawk man sent his way, and landed very ungracefully inside the very same tower he'd jumped from. All these creatures planned to take Dróttinn away from him. Didn't they see he needed its power, now? Didn't they realize Dróttinn needed him? He had a purpose again, a place in the universe. Loki frantically sent out pulse after pulse, looking for the scepter, until he blew up at the green beast and was pounded into the floor. He was starting to shake already.

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Thor, that big dumb ox! He left Dróttinn! He let those puny humans have his scepter. He allowed those so beneath them to have the power that had been given to him freely, needed him alone; he needed it alone… Thor had noticed right away, the shaking, desperate, aching mess that Loki was. Or perhaps the hawk man had told him, when he had regained his own will. Loki kept calling out to Dróttinn, for as long as he could. He sent pulses every minute, but nothing answered him back. Perhaps his scepter no longer wanted him. Eventually, Loki ran out of magic to spend. That was when he had begged…begged!..for Dróttinn. When the hawk man came in, he was exhausted and too surprised to act. He felt disgusted with himself when the archer looked at him with pity. Hawk man wasn't as kind this time. He didn't bring Loki food or drink. He didn't make him sleep, or bathe in the room they'd stuck him in. He just stared.

"I thought I wanted revenge," he told him, after a long while.

"Where is the scepter?" Loki snapped. Hawk man just shook his head.

"You're more a slave to it than I ever was." The archer left him, then, shutting the door behind him. Loki rushed up to it and banged loudly.

"Where is the scepter?!" he snarled, pushing his wild hair away from his face.

"Far away from you," he heard the assassin call back.

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Thor came to him late in the night. Loki was hallucinating again. Gungnir and Dróttinn hovered right in front of him, both angry, both feeling betrayed.

 _How could you let me go?_ whispered Gungnir.

 _How could you let them take me? How could you let us lose?_ screeched Dróttinn.

Loki held his head and rocked back and forth. When Thor came in, he was raking deep gash marks down his face with his long fingernails. Asking his staves over and over again, "Where are you? Where are you?" Thor took his hands in one of his own and wrapped his other arm around Loki.

"Brother," he soothed. "The power is gone. Let its thrall leave you."

"Never gone," Loki promised. "Always more. There's lots more." Thor petted his hair and rocked with him.

"No, brother. You do not need that power. You are strong and clever without it," Thor assured him.

"I would be king for that power," Loki continued to babble. "It is my burden to take, Thor. It is my purpose." Thor hid his tears from Loki, but kept holding onto him, tightly. "Not your purpose," he snarled. "My purpose." He started to hyperventilate, working himself up with the thought of Thor feeling the way he did, taking Gungnir for the first time. "It…w-w-will be too much…f-for you. Th-There's no coming back. There's only…the Void."

"Loki, please," Thor begged. He took deep, slow breaths. "Listen to my breathing, brother," he pleaded, as Loki sagged against him. Thor gave him a sharp slap on his cheek when his eyes starting rolling to the back of his head. "Loki!" Thor ordered. He took one, long, gasping breath before finally working to even his breathing out to match Thor's.

When he had calmed down, Lok spoke again. "Not for you, brother," he sighed. "Don't touch it." Thor hugged him tighter.

"OK, Loki. I understand," he placated him.

"Where is Dróttinn?" he trembled.

"It's time for bed, Loki. Dróttinn is safe. You can rest easy." Thor picked him up to carry him to the bed.

"Dróttinn needs me. We have an important purpose. I didn't want to, but I promised." Loki struggled weakly, looking for the door.

"Dróttinn fulfilled its purpose. It spoke to me. The scepter feels safe and fulfilled," he lied. "Now, sleep, brother." Thor laid him on the bed and wrapped him up tightly in the covers while Loki struggled.

"Nnnn…not your brother," he choked, feeling himself wrapped so tightly he could no longer move. Thor swiped at his eyes discreetly.

"Maybe not by blood, but you will always be my little brother, Loki. Now sleep. I will stay by your side to make sure you are safe," he promised.

"Dróttinn…" Loki moaned, his eyelids drooping closed.

"Dróttinn is safe. Go to sleep." Thor sat on the hard floor and propped himself up against bed, facing the door. He knew this would make Loki feel safe enough to sleep.

"Dro…" he panted. "You…no…where….don't…" he breathed, finally succumbing to sleep. "Thor…" The older prince propped up his legs and put his elbows on his knees. He let his head fall into his hands, feeling at a loss for what to do for Loki.

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Loki stood before the Allfather in the throne room. In chains. It had been a year since the Chitauri battle. That was how long Thor had needed to bring him back from his enslavement to that scepter. And even now, after all the work they'd done, he stared hungrily at Gungnir. It mattered little what he said to Odin. He either wanted to kill him and steal the power, or he wanted to be locked away where he could never reach it. Loki looked around nervously for his brother. He needed his support if he was going to get out of this trial unscathed. _Surely Thor told Odin what happened on Midgard,_ he worried. But Loki hadn't seen his father in two years. Perhaps Odin was too ashamed of him, now, to care whether Loki acted on his own or not. He was ashamed of himself, after all. And so, when Odin finally noticed the sheen of sweat on his brow and the hungry look Loki tossed at Gungnir, he changed his tune and decided to throw him in the dungeon.

"It is my birthright," Loki screamed again. "Thor will never be ready," he cautioned. "Do not do this to him, Father!" Loki begged. Odin turned away from him, though, unable to look him in the eye.

"There are still lessons you need to learn, my son," Odin imparted, as he was dragged away.

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Thor stood in front of Loki's cell, anger splayed all over his face. "I see the talk with Father did not go as we had talked about," he glowered.

"Where were you?" Loki gasped, laying on the floor of his cell. "The staff was right there, Thor." Loki closed his eyes, dreaming of Gungnir again. He reached his arms up towards the imaginary staff in his mind. Thor sighed and sat down next to the cell's barrier, his back to Loki.

"I know, Loki. You have to fight it, though. It is not a power you want." Thor ran his hands through his hair to give himself something to do. "Remember how crazy it made you and remember how you hated feeling so dependent upon it. You were never anxious by nature, brother. It is these powers that have made you so. You are their master, not the other way around."

Everything Thor said made sense, damn him, and Loki bit his lip til it drew blood. "I know," he conceded, softly, opening his eyes. He stared over at Thor. "What can I do now, though?" He let his hands fall heavily onto the floor at his sides. "I have already failed the old man's test," he hissed.

"Do not give up hope, brother. Keep up at the mental exercises we learned in Alfheim. Those seemed to help, did they not?" Thor turned to look at Loki while the younger prince picked at his hands.

"I do not know," he confessed. "I hope so." Loki took a deep breath and sat up to face Thor. "I promise to keep at them, Thor." Thor nodded and stood up.

"OK. I am needed on Vanaheim, or I would stay longer. But when I return, I will see about talking to Father. I do not think you are so bad that you should be locked away down here." Loki's eyes softened as he stared down at his hands.

"Thank you, brother," he mumbled, and Thor's heart swelled. Since finding out he was adopted, Thor could remember the exact number of times Loki had actually called him "brother" and meant it. It was a short list, but he treasured each one.

"I love you, little brother," he smiled. Loki cleared his throat and turned around, silently communicating his discomfort. Thor smirked and shook his head, but headed for the stairs. "I know you do, too," he called back as he started for the stairs.

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Loki tossed a cup in the air, repeatedly, trying to keep his mind off the things he wasn't supposed to think about. Wasn't supposed to want. And yet, Gungnir still burned in his veins. It had taken awhile to get the dark desire for the scepter out of his mind, but the light elves had a great affinity for pulling through addiction, and he and Thor learned a great deal while they were there. For Loki, Gungnir was still a power he had to struggle against. It was part of his home, despite all his protests. It was a purpose he could have been destined for. _Should still be destined for!_ he raged. _Thor should not have to shoulder this. He does not know, like I know, what that power is like. It will crush him…_ He worried about this over and over, and yet, every time Loki thought rationally about taking the throne, he never wanted it. A huge surge of power caught his attention in that next moment, and Loki put the cup down. To his surprise, there was some kind of monster pushing his way out of a cell by way of another creature's skull.

When the monster started killing the guards on duty, Loki did something he knew he shouldn't. He really shouldn't call to Gungnir like the scepter had taught him. He knew, rationally, it wasn't healthy. It would bring back all those feelings of want all over again. But he had to know. _What if something is happening in the palace as well? Shouldn't I know if Odin has been compromised?_ his addiction reasoned. _I should_ , he decided. While the monster started tearing down cell barriers, Loki sent a pulse of his own magic out to Gungnir. Its answering call was strong and hungry. There was a battle afoot and it had been too long since Odin had fought with his weapon. It asked for Loki to take it to battle, and beckoned him to come take it from Odin. Loki closed his eyes and breathed in deep. When he opened them again, he felt the familiar high of wielding the Allfather's weapon. When the monster came upon his cell, though, he didn't let him out.

Thinking quickly, Loki sent a retort his way. The stairs were packed with other escaped prisoners and guards alike. "You might want to take the stairs to the left," he smirked. _Either he will let me out for my help, or he may kill the Allfather himself and leave Gungnir for me_ , he thought vociferously. His eyes gleamed with the promise of power Gungnir had sent him. _Let me out, you despicable wretch!_ The monster simply turned around and left, following his advice, taking the stairs on the left, and avoiding the fight. Loki broke a table in his anger.

When Thor finally arrived in the dungeon, a loud crash shook the entire palace, all the way down to the dungeon. The two princes exchanged glances before Thor's eyes widened in horror. Loki's pupils were blown wide and his gaze unfocused.

"Loki!" Thor bellowed, over the rowdy din of fighting. "What have you done?"

"Gungnir needs someone fierce to wield it in battle," he touted. "I simply let it know I was available." He smiled wickedly. "It felt so good to say hello, brother."

"Loki!" Thor raged, disposing of the prisoners left in the stairwell as a bigger crash shook the palace. The two brothers stared up at the ceiling. Thor looked back at Loki and shook his head before running up the stairs towards the throne.

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Loki stared at Jane like a starving man looking at the prospect of a large piece of fruit. His mouth felt dry, but he dared not reach out to Aether. Odin had been right; there were still lessons he'd needed to learn. It was a lesson he'd, now, never forget, and an action he'd regret for the rest of his life. He let his want for these ancient powers take over his mind, and for that, he got his own mother killed. Like an itch that needed to be scratched, he couldn't have just ignored it and moved on. As he continued to steer the ship they were on, he reminded himself of the pact he'd made in the dungeon, after he'd learned of Frigga's death. At the time, he'd been a little harsh. _Never again, you disgusting shit. You will be strong and you will overcome this._ It didn't feel fair to him. One small moment of weakness, when he had no one to lean on, once again, and it caused a domino effect in the dark elf battle. It made him want to retch, thinking about it.

Loki took a deep breath, weighing his options. Despite knowing he would do nothing, he needed to talk about it anyways. "What I could do with the power that flows through her veins," he released. Thor looked over at Loki and caught his meaning. He glared, still angry at Loki's earlier betrayal. Loki's set-back had pulled Odin's focus during the attack. Instead of charging ahead as normal, he had needed to urge Gungnir fully under his control before leading their troops. It was time they had sorely needed.

 _I have to let this go_ , Thor criticized himself. _It is an illness that drove Loki, not some kind of true desire to see Asgard fall_. He looked down at Jane and counted to ten, ensuring he was calmer when he spoke. "It would consume you," he advised, telling Loki something he'd heard many times before.

And just because he still needed to keep talking, Loki hit where it hurt. "She seems to be holding up alright…for now."

"She's strong in ways you wouldn't even know," Thor accused, instantly cursing himself for his temper. Loki needed his support, not the things he was wont to say in his unthinking anger. The younger prince felt the sting from Thor's words and turned away.

"You're right. She'll probably be fine when we trick Malekith into removing the Aether from her," he remarked. "I would be a wreck, but Jane's strong in ways I'll never know, isn't she?" The two locked eyes in a clash of tempers and egos, the smell of ozone filling the air.

"I didn't mean it that way," Thor ground out, "and you know it." In the end, Loki yielded.

"You don't have to worry, Thor. I've learned my lesson with Mother." Thor looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" he demanded. Loki refused to talk about it any further.

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 _Such poetic justice_ , Loki laughed. _That was ill-advised._ He turned on his side and threw up, crying out in pain afterward. He'd gotten his revenge for his mother's death, and the same creature that killed her pretty nearly killed him. He was still unsure how he was still living. Thor and Jane were gone, he was covered in sand, and he had a giant gash running through the front and back of his body. Loki moved onto his back again and focused his energies into healing. It left him a lot of time for thinking, once again, which he didn't appreciate. _I am so tired. Can I not just rest?_ He closed his eyes, trying to figure out what he was going to do. _I should tell the Allfather I'm dead. That Mother is avenged and I am dead._ _Better yet, I could just let Thor do it… I could heal up enough to leave this planet and go wherever I felt like to heal. I can shapeshift into whatever I want. I'd never have to worry about being found out._ Loki turned on his side again to cough up some of the blood that was lingering in his mouth. He groaned as his insides knit back together, sliding onto his back once more. _I couldn't do that to Thor. He knows what awaits him, if he picks up Gungnir. But perhaps Thor isn't afraid,_ Loki stressed. _Still…_

He cried out as he rolled onto his knees. He shouldn't be moving so soon, but if he was going to beat Thor back to Asgard, he needed to get moving. He coughed up more blood as his magic pushed out the blood that had gathered in his lungs. After that, he retched again. _The Norns have a pretty sick sense of humor_. He wheezed, sitting up. He felt dizzy, but he could feel his magic whirling inside him, doing its job. If he had a few more days, he could move without so much pain. But he didn't have that kind of time. He was loathe to do it, but Loki ripped open his leather tunic and removed it gently from his body. The gash was still dripping with blood, but nothing that would kill him, now. He reached down in himself to locate the magic that was part of his heritage. Redirecting some of the healing to this, he encased his chest in a thin sheet of ice. It would help keep things together as he moved around. He roared in pain as he stood up, staring down at his chest. The gash opened up again, but his blood had nowhere to go. Satisfied with this, Loki magicked the illusion of an Einherjar on himself and directed the rest of his magic away from healing, for a few moments, in order to teleport off of Svartalfheim and to Asgard.

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When he crash landed in the healing halls, Loki seemed to disrupt nearly everyone there, retching blood and bile, once again, onto the floor. He was happily surprised that he still wore the disguise of the Einherjar. "I'm sorry," he spluttered. "I just returned from Svartalfheim and was involved in a battle against Malekith." A few of the healers rushed at him holding some of the healing stones and directing him to lay on one of the nearby beds. As he gave the illusion that they were removing his armor, he got rid of the ice encasing his chest and dropped the illusion of armor on his chest. The healers gasped, staring at the wound and quickly crushing up some of the stones.

"Don't worry," one of the women chimed in. "We've been dealing with a lot of these wounds. Are there more coming?"

"No," he coughed. "I was sent with one other, as a scouting party. I was the only one to return." The healers nodded and gently moved him to his side so they could apply some of the stones to Loki's back. "I don't have much time, though. I must inform the Allfather what I have seen." Five minutes, tops. That's what Loki would give them.

"You're in no condition to speak with the King," Eir reprimanded him, as she came over to look at the wound.

"I appreciate the concern, madam, but I must inform his majesty. It is of grave importance. I have, perhaps, five minutes to spare. But I will return as soon as I have relayed the message," Loki lied. Eir stared down at him with a stern expression.

"If it is of such important matters, then you will stay for ten, and return the moment you are done. I will hold you to that!" Loki smiled. Eir had always been his favorite.

"Alright, madam," he agreed.

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True to her word, Eir had not let him go a moment sooner than ten minutes and had sent a guard with him to ensure he returned the moment he left the throne room. Ten minutes, sitting with the healing stones, though, had been extremely helpful. He used his magic to cover his chest in the ice again, and started the illusion of putting the armor back on his upper body. Dragging himself from the healing bed was hard. He didn't want to get up. But, assuming Thor was successful, he didn't have much time. And if he wasn't successful, what difference did it matter if he were lying in bed or speaking with Odin in the throne room. _Better safe than sorry_ , he quipped.

Making his way there was a slow process, but he was surprised when the doors opened and revealed the throne room, still in shambles, and the king, standing weakly upon the dais; lost, defeated. When Loki reached bottom steps of the dais, he addressed the Allfather.

"Forgive me, my liege. I've returned from the Dark World with news." Odin looked over at him, and Loki wasn't sure if he saw straight through his illusion or not.

"Thor?" he asked, sounding tired. He stood on dais that led up to the second set of steps that were necessary to reach the throne.

"There's no sign of Thor, or the weapon, but…" Loki moved a bit closer, wanting to really catch Odin's expression on this.

"What?" he croaked, his shoulders slumping even more.

"We found a body." Loki watched as the only father he'd known stared at him, confused. He didn't feel like explaining, so he plastered on a sad face, hoping the man caught his drift. It finally dawned on him.

"Loki," he whispered, like all the air had been punched out of him. Odin stumbled and fell hard upon his backside.

"Allfather!" Loki cried, rushing up to help him. He winced as he felt the gash on his chest open up again. Without thinking, he grasped Odin's forearm to help him up, and his illusion fell away.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello all! Here's the last chapter of this. :) :) :) It took me a week longer than I expected, so I apologize for the delay. This ALSO has delayed my next chapter of It's All Coming Back to Me, but things are moving and shaking over here. It's been a real hot bed of activity. Family visiting, aunts and uncles coming out of the woodwork, busy times at work, vacation, vacation planning, etc! But this is done, and in the 15+ years that I've been writing (on and, for a long time, very very off), this is the first story I've actually finished. Most everything else became abandoned WIPs, so this is HUGE for me. :D I'm not 100% happy with this, but I needed to be done, and so, it's done. ;)

Regardless, I hope you enjoy! Thanks to all who've read this and commented, favorited, or simply enjoyed. You're the best!

Please keep in mind, not everything here follows canon MCU. I also may or may not have use a reference to Allsight correctly. If this is an actual power, I likely used it wrong. If not, then I made up a name for something. ;)

Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine, nor any dialog that appears from the movies. Not for profit.

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My Father, what is this?

My son, I cannot say.

You are my burden,

But my soul remains.

To be ever changing

Will not guarantee

A life fulfilled,

A purpose free.

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Odin let out a loud, wheezing laugh while Loki took his hand back like he'd been burned. He waved Loki away as he started into a coughing fit. "My son," he rasped, sighing. Odin closed his good eye for a moment before looking over at Loki again. "Truly, I've given you some of the worst parts of myself, my boy." He stared hard at the angry red gash on Loki's bare chest. Loki scowled, his plan foiled, and put up an illusion of a simple tunic to cover himself.

"What do you mean?" he retorted, sitting down next to Odin. "You're not even my real father. You can't have given me anything of yourself." Odin cleared his throat and gazed at Loki.

"And there, you would be wrong. Do you forget that I have raised you since you were a babe? I've seen you grow into the man you are today. Over a thousand years of lessons and memories. And a thousand and one mistakes your mother and I constantly agonized over." Odin worked on getting his heart and his breathing under control. It had been rather a scare for him.

"What mistakes could the great Allfather possibly have made?" Loki mocked.

"Hah!" Odin burst, with a great smile. "Hah hah," he mocked back at Loki. "To be a father is to always make mistakes." He took a deep breath and let it out. "Just as I have passed along my great temper to Thor, I have passed along my mistrust to you. We constantly test those around us because we cannot trust their reactions. Even now, you did not know how I would react to your death, so you tested me to know if I truly cared." Odin chuckled, then. "I am glad you are a better man than I, Loki, or I may not be speaking so ably to you right now."

Loki was shocked. He almost didn't know the man sitting next to him, for he had never been so open with Thor or him all their lives. "Surely you jest," he proffered.

"Surely I am an old man and a fool," he smiled, speaking Thor's words back to the ruined throne room.

"Father…" Loki trailed off. He didn't know what to say, now that Odin was saying the things he wanted to hear.

"Yes, it was always your mother's job to do the comforting, wasn't it?" His lips twitched down into a brief frown. "I had forgotten one of life's greatest gifts. That there are always more life lessons to be learned; more ways to grow. So we shall all just have to learn to comfort each other." Loki snorted as Odin patted him awkwardly on his knee.

"Or die of awkwardness, trying. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Odin guided. "I know how much you miss your mother." He sighed. After a few moments, he spoke again. "But there is business to discuss, and you have a choice I need you to make."

"After all this, you still feel you can ask something of me?" Loki tried.

"Oh…there's so many ways to take that statement, son," Odin harrumphed. When Loki continued to glare, and didn't elaborate, he continued on. "Thor made it quite clear to me that it is no longer my time to rule the nine realms when he showed me how willing I was to sacrifice all of Asgard for my pride."

"You wouldn't have done that," Loki voiced, his eyes softening. He took a deep breath as his insides continued to heal.

"No?" Odin challenged, staring over at his son. He put on a sad smile. "You have more faith in me than I do, then." Loki fiddled with his hands, feeling uncomfortable again, as Odin reached over to cover his hands with one of his own. When he realized what he'd done, he apologized. "I'm sorry. Your mother used to do that," he explained, "and always asked me to stop her." Loki removed his hands from below Odin's, but placed one on top of his at the last minute.

"I know," he whispered, letting the silence take over for a little while. "What is it you want from me?" he asked, after some time had passed.

"I cannot keep these powers any longer, my son." Odin looked just as weary as he had when Loki found him standing among the ruins. "I cannot keep them safe for the next king any longer, and I have no others prepared to take them save you and your brother." Loki scoffed.

"Yes, prepared. That is exactly how I felt when this was forced on me the first time." Odin gave him another sad smile and nodded his head.

"Yes. And that was entirely my own fault." Loki's eyebrows rose as he stared, stunned. Odin chuckled at his reaction. "Yes, Loki. It was my fault. I knew what it was like to receive the powers of Allfather, and simply assumed, of the two of you, Thor would be strong enough to handle them. Not because you are weak, but because he is stronger. I also knew not what the powers would do for someone not of Asgard. It was easy to let these surface things influence my decision to choose Thor. But I also got the sense that you did not particularly care for the throne. Was I wrong?"

"You chose him because you thought I could not do it. Is that it?" Loki put up a mask of indifference to hide his turbulent feelings. On one hand, his father had complimented him, on another hand, it Odin had been afraid for him, on still another hand, he insulted Loki. All these things Odin felt for him…why was he not prepared to hear them?

"No, Loki. If you wish to be king, then now is the time. You are ready." Loki laughed.

"And I was not when you decided to throw me in the dungeons?" he sneered. "Was I ready then, Father?"

"No." Odin stated, harsh and heavy. Loki stared down at the floor. "But as I said before, there were still lessons you needed to learn. And death is a most strict instructor. I had hoped you wouldn't have had to learn from her, but the Norns do have a rather mean streak to them sometimes." Odin patted his back lightly, almost unsure of his own actions. "Do you know, this entire time you've been here, not once have you wondered where Gungnir resided? Not once did you try to fight me for the power within me, ripe for the taking?" Loki floundered a bit, not fully realizing it until now.

"I…" he began, his brown furrowing in protest. "It does not mean it will not happen all over again, if I take this burden from you," he criticized.

"Nothing in life is a guarantee," Odin agreed. "But your heart is settled, Loki. You are ready," he asserted.

Loki sighed. "And now I do agree with Thor. You are an old man and a fool." Loki pushed himself up to standing, biting his lip to keep from crying out. "Truly, I do not want the throne," he stressed, starting to walk back down the steps that led to the dais.

"Be that as it may, you must take these powers, or I shall have to give them all to Thor when he returns. I can keep them no longer." Odin's hands shook and he made to stand up.

Loki squeezed his eyes shut, his fears closing in on him now. This was the reason he'd returned to Asgard. "So this is how it is to be? Either I sacrifice my sanity for Thor, or let him sacrifice himself for you?" he spat.

"If that is how you choose to see it," Odin growled. He removed Gungnir from a pocket dimension and stood before Loki. "The choice I had hoped you would make was not whether to take these powers, but to take them regardless and either give them to Thor little by little, or keep them for yourself. But this is one of your many talents, Loki. You always challenge me to think of new options. So, I will honor your wishes-"

"For once…" Loki grumbled. Odin ignored the dig.

"-and if you can't take this chance and shoulder this burden for me, then I will understand. And I will pass it along, wholly, to Thor."

"Yes, because he is the good son who will always do what you ask. Because he is strong enough," Loki taunted. Odin gritted his teeth, his ire rising.

"Why must you always twist my words?" he hissed.

"Because it is so very easy." Loki gave him a mock bow and he had to work hard not to rise to the challenge. Odin exhaled, forcefully, through his nose, staring down at Loki from the dais.

"Loki, son of Laufey, son of Odin," Odin spoke, his voice filled with magic.

"We're doing this now?" Loki sputtered. "You did not even wait for my reply."

"I already knew your reply," he told him, as Loki flushed in frustration. When had he become so easily readable? "Do you swear to guard the nine realms?" Loki stood there for a moment, warring with himself on how to respond. Magical contracts were always full of loopholes, unless one was very specific. Odin was desperate, though; he didn't even need to be serious about this and he know Odin would still be likely to agree.

"I swear to send someone else whenever there is a need," he smirked. Odin rolled his eyes.

"Do you swear to preserve the peace?" The Allfather walked down the steps to where Loki stood.

"Insofar as it allows a little mischief…a special touch of chaos, every now and then." The king of Asgard sighed.

"Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition and pledge yourself only to the good of all the realms?" he deadpanned, knowing Loki was bound to be difficult.

"Hardly," Loki laughed. "But I do swear not to cause too much trouble, until the time comes to pass all this on to someone else. Honestly, could you not have come up with different terms? Do I have to go through this nonsense with Thor, too?" Odin gave him a harsh glare.

"Then on this day, I, Odin, son of Bor, Allfather, proclaim you, Loki, son of Frigga, God of Magic, to be King of Asgard." Odin held Gungnir out to Loki and he knew, once he took it, he would have the full power of the Allfather within him. The contract wasn't binding until he took Gungnir from Odin's hands. Loki looked at Odin with great fear and uncertainty.

"Father…" he choked. Odin smiled at him. "I don't even know how to pass these powers on to Thor. What if Thor isn't strong enough?" he worried. Odin just shook his head.

"You will know what to do," Odin assured him. "The power will guide you in accomplishing any kind of transfer you wish."

"What if I'm not strong enough?" Loki whispered.

"You will be great, my son." Loki closed his eyes and grabbed Gungnir with his own hands.

"So mote it be," he agreed, binding the agreement. When he opened his eyes, Odin was gone.

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Loki lay in bed, gasping for breath as he hovered a hand over the wound in his chest. He directed something more powerful through his hand and into the skin, hoping, this time, it would close up for good. Turns out, being Allfather wasn't nearly as nice as one might have thought. Six months into the gig and Loki barely had enough energy to get out of bed, some mornings. He thought often of that fateful day when Odin disappeared. Since there were no witnesses, and, especially, no Odin, Loki thought hardly anyone would believe Odin had simply passed along the job of ruler of the nine realms to him. So he disguised himself as Odin. It wasn't a perfect solution. After all, there's no way he could convincingly be the man 24/7. And the powers were enough of a burden to deal with. The first time, he had only gotten a taste of the ancient magics from Gungnir. Most of the power of king had still resided with Odin, in the Odinsleep. There was no buffer, this time. He was worried about being addicted to the power before; now it was simply a struggle not to be consumed by it.

Luckily, Odin was right when he said Loki would know what to do if he wanted to start shifting some of his power to someone else. When Thor arrived, he could scarcely imagine ever using the Allsight. He needed to keep himself anchored to something, and Asgard was his best bet. If he could focus on his immediate surroundings and draw on his connection to his home, he may have a chance of keeping the powers in check. So he had given that to Thor. Let Thor have the burden of premonition; the gift of seeing all, should he need to; to dream of things to come…threats to other realms. That, at least, he knew his brother was fully prepared to handle, for he had been doing it almost all his life. Sure, the dreams part would take adjusting to, but he trusted Thor in this. In truth, Thor might not even ever realize he had the ability to see into other realms, or communicate with Heimdall. Happily, his brother hadn't even noticed the responsibility he'd passed along, and Loki had felt a bit lighter giving it away.

Loki still had the ability to see things he needed to from the throne, but the power to do so anywhere and everywhere was no longer something he chose to wield. He would check in on Thor from time-to-time. Honestly, he'd assumed his brother would return after a few months to check in, but that hadn't been the case. Ergo, it was up to Loki to shoulder everything else until, bit-by-bit, he could either share the power with Thor, give it over entirely, or they could find a new heir to take things over; one who actually wanted the job. He needed Thor to visit soon, though. Keeping the powers in control was greatly affecting his ability to focus his magic on healing. Keeping up a shape that wasn't natural to him for days on end also wore down his magics. Perhaps if he hadn't been so injured, it would have been easier to control the powers he now had, but it felt like a constant drag on his energy, instead. And he couldn't simply go to the healing wing and ask for help. He was pretending to be Odin. They would wonder where such a huge wound came from. And if he chose a different form, it seemed it was then that everyone came looking for the Allfather. He did what he could while he was sleeping, but many mornings he woke to a re-opened wound, which led to pain throughout his day.

Loki sighed, listening to the deep knock on the door to the Allfather's chambers. It had been weird to sleep here. Wrong. But he was pretending to be Odin, so where else would he sleep? He sat up, wincing, and checked the linens and his clothing for any red that shouldn't be there. Luckily, there wasn't any this time. He sighed and transformed into Odin.

"Yes," he called. Odin's valet entered, there to start the day for him.

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 _Two years!_ Loki sagged on the throne. _Where have you BEEN, brother?_ he whined to himself. Thor had returned after helping 'Earth's mightiest heroes' destroy a threat one of them had created himself. That arrogant one Loki had thrown out the window when he'd… He stopped thinking about it, banishing his thoughts from that time away from his mind. _This is not a time to remember being controlled by a power not-too dissimilar to the one I am currently holding at bay_ , he huffed. He'd had to go through the whole nauseating welcome home with Thor, trying to imagine what his Father might have said. If Thor found any of it strange, he chose not to mention it. And now he was droning on and on about these infinity stones that Loki had known about for years. _You should remember these, brother_ , he chastised in his head. _It was you who spent so much time freeing me from its thrall_ … "Thank you!" he burst, interrupting the conversation. "Thor…" he said, quieter. Thor looked up at him in surprise. "I am aware of the stones. Was it not I who told you about them when your Miss Foster was here last?" he questioned.

"Of course, Father," Thor nodded. "I thought you might want to know more, that is all." Loki held back his scowl in favor of a comforting smile.

"Thank you, my son." Loki tilted his head in acknowledgement, in favor of the eyeroll he wanted to give. "You were aware the scepter you told me about was an infinity stone?" he questioned, taking a stab in the dark that Thor had mentioned it.

"Yes," he confirmed. Loki almost sighed in relief. "It now resides with the Vision I told you about. He is a being entirely comprised of technology, it seems. Loki would have been most curious about it." Thor smiled sadly and bowed his head. Loki carefully said nothing. He wasn't sure why he hadn't revealed himself to his brother. He thought once Thor found out, he would feel obligated to take the throne. And he didn't want to force that on him. Thor deserved a little freedom. Even if Loki didn't think it was smart for him to fall in love with a mortal.

"We sent the Aether to Knowhere," he told Thor, simply avoiding talking about himself. Thor wouldn't find it unusual. Odin frequently avoided difficult topics. "And, of course, the Tesseract is here," he finished. Thor nodded and looked up at him.

"Yes. I thought I might try to learn of the other three. There is someone out there trying to harness them all, Father, for I know not what. But I know it to be terribly destructive." Thor paused, looking like he was trying to work something out in his mind. "I have begun having strange dreams and premonitions, lately," he confided. "Much like what you told me once of the Allsight." Loki stood carefully, gripping Gungnir white knuckled. The wound from the Kursed was a constant blight, but it was much improved from two years ago when he was still waking up with an open sore on his chest. If there was one positive, though, he was a more convincing performance this way. He moved slowly and carefully, not only from the pain, but also from the weight of the powers he held. Every breath was measured; every muscle taut, in defense.

"Perhaps it is a new gift the Norns have bestowed upon you," Loki chuckled, walking slowly down the dais towards Thor.

"I had not considered that," his brother mused. "Is that possible?" When Loki reached the bottom of the stairs, he placed a hand on Thor's shoulder and released a bit more of the Allfather's power to him. Thor seemed to flourish with the power boost. _Maybe it is just me that finds these powers too much to bear_ , he worried.

"The Norns are fickle," he replied. "They give as they see fit, and it is not for us to judge." Loki patted Thor's shoulder as a distraction before removing his hand. He didn't understand it, but Thor didn't even seem to notice what Loki had done. "It is good to have you home," he told him, honestly. Once again, that light feeling he got whenever he shared the powers of King with Thor came over him. He began walking towards the doors to the throne room, feeling much better than he had a few moments before.

"I do not have that much time," Thor reported, following after him.

"Of course." Loki smiled sadly. "Would you dine with me, and we can speak of this more privately?" Loki considered revealing himself in that moment, terribly. Maybe Thor was simply made to take on the powers of Allfather, and all that worrying, all his sacrificing had been all for nothing. Loki did one more experiment with it. He passed along a little more to Thor, but at this, his brother did take notice. He stared at Loki for a few minutes, sweat starting to gather at his brow.

"Can we wait until a bit later?" Thor hesitated. "Perhaps I am not in as much of a rush as I was before… And it would be nice to catch up with Sif & the Warriors Three." His brother laughed awkwardly, suddenly uncomfortable around Loki. "But, I can put that aside for later, depending on your schedule, of course," he offered. Loki watched the way his brother held himself: a bit apart, but by choice. His eyes watched Loki's movements.

 _It's not just me,_ he thought, triumphantly. At the same time, he felt guilty. Thor was at the end of his limit right now, and what he'd passed on had begun to make his brother uneasy around him. "Of course, son," he smiled cheerfully, ensuring to mask his true feelings. "Get in a few rounds in the training yards and come back hungry," he encouraged. Thor laughed with him before thanking Loki and departing. _I've shared, maybe 30 percent of these powers, now,_ he fretted. _Will Thor ever be ready?_

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Right around year three and a half, things started going a little crazy. Loki had spent so long pretending to be Odin that the lines were starting to become a bit blurred. Thor had visited maybe one other time, he thought, since the last attack Thor had helped squash on Midgard. He had given him, maybe a total of 40% of the Allfather's power by now, and today was, finally, a good day for Loki. He jumped from the bed and used his magic to open the heavy blinds that darkened the room. When he stared at himself in the mirror it was no longer his face he saw, but Odin's, for Loki never seemed to remember to drop this form, anymore. When his valet showed up, he let him in with a lightness in his step and a brand new idea in his head.

"When we're finished here, call in my tailor. Then put something on my schedule for one of our best sculptors." The valet stared at him, open-mouthed for a few moments before he composed himself.

"Of course, Allfather," he stammered, rushing to turn on the water in the bath and warm a basin for shaving. When he was pulling out items from the closet, Loki joined the man.

"I don't want to wear anything so heavy today," he carped, waving off the armor his valet had been taking out. "Is the bath ready?" he asked, excitedly. He needed a hot soak this morning. It was cool in Asgard, finally, and he wanted a bath as hot as it could get.

"Let me check," the other man mumbled, running off again.

"Gilby," Loki whispered, finally remembering the man's name. When Gilby returned, he let Loki know the water was ready for him. "OK, while I am in the bath, find the tailor and tell him I want something light and comfortable to wear. I'm getting old, Gilby," he pouted. "Asgard is prospering. I need some rest." He shuffled off towards the bath, knowing his valet would do as he asked. In the meantime, he was free to enjoy the overly large tub and soak to his liking in its peaceful waters.

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Gilby had returned earlier that day with such a comfortable outfit. Loki really had to hand it to the tailor. It was a work of art. Soft fabric, lightweight, but sturdy, creatively embellished. Fit for a king. He smiled, stroking the fabric again, enjoying its feeling upon his skin. He had a few moments before the impromptu meeting he'd called with his advisors, so he ran through what he wanted from them. He'd commissioned a statue of Frigga to be put in her private garden. Something beautiful and delicate. Final approval would go through him, but it was really past time he should have done this. Frigga deserved a memorial. This first statue was private, but he'd have another one built for the people. That one would highlight her fierceness, her warrior spirit, and what she did for Asgard as its queen. The last piece he commissioned was a statue of Asgard's fallen prince, dressed in his full battle armor. It was mostly because he wanted it, but partially because he needed a reminder of who he was. If he had an image to look at, he may stand a chance at keeping himself together.

When the last councilor shut the door behind him, Loki turned to them all. It was a few moments more before they were all seated. "Thank you for being available on such short notice," he started, making a gracious nod of his head. "I think it's high time we discussed Asgard's patronage to the arts," he sighed, happily, leaning back in the heavily cushioned chair he'd had added to these chambers.

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When Thor returned for the first time in a year, so many things had changed about Asgard. Heimdall marked a traitor, some kind of weird guardrails built to line the bridge to the Bifrost observatory, statues built to commemorate lesser known heroes in Asgard's history, a beautiful shrine to his mother, and weirdest of all, a giant statue of Loki. Thor retracted that last statement. The weirdest of all was the play he was watching off one of the larger palace balconies, Odin lounging around in some kind of flowy robe, feeding himself grapes, and the rapt attention he was giving the performance. If Thor wasn't already aware of Loki's deception, he may have thought his Father had had some kind of mental breakdown. Odin, on the other hand, was extremely pleased with the play that had concluded.

"Bravo! Bravo! Well done. Bravo." He congratulated all the players at the conclusion until he heard a voice address him that he knew quite well.

"Father," Thor deadpanned.

"Oh shit…" Odin whispered. His son had finally come to visit, and he caught him unawares, indulging himself instead of worrying about the rest of the Nine. They bantered a bit longer on the play and the trinket Thor had brought to Asgard from Muspelheim. Then, when he'd tried to urge Thor back to Midgard, he hadn't taken the bait; instead, Thor told him a terrible tale of Asgard falling to ruins, enemies of their realm amassing troops to attack. How had he not known this? A small voice whispered in the back of his head. _You gave up the Allsight to Thor, genius. It was his responsibility to keep the realms safe. You were only supposed to be responsible for Asgard._ When Thor challenged him on what he'd been doing, he let him know. Being King wasn't easy! "I've been rather busy, my boy. Board meetings and security council meetings…" Before he could come up with other examples, Thor was speaking again.

"You're really gonna make me do it?" he challenged. Odin had no idea what he was referring to.

"Do what?" he lilted, watching Thor throw Mjolnir.

"You know that nothing will stop Mjolnir as it returns to my hand," Thor warned, standing behind Odin and placing his open palm against his neck. "Not even your face."

Odin panicked. What had gotten into Thor? Yes, maybe he'd gotten carried away with the softer things in life, but he was still doing a great job with Asgard. The people had never been happier… "You've gone quite mad," he exclaimed. "You…you'll be executed for this," he breathed, trying to fight Thor off.

"Then I'll see you on the other side, brother," the prince whispered in Odin's ear. At his words, things started to fall into place again in Loki's mind. Four years as Odin had greatly challenged his mind. Two of those years spent in chronic pain, another year and a half spent nearly recovering. Now, with Mjolnir coming straight for him, Loki gathered his magic to drop the act he'd been playing for too long.

"All right, I yield!" he yelled, in his own voice, almost surprised to hear it, after so long. He panted as Thor shoved him out of Mjolnir's path and he changed back to his Asgardian form. His eyes were wide as he stared down at himself, briefly, in shock. He didn't know when he'd stopping thinking of himself as Loki, but it was terrifying to think he'd lost himself in the ruse he'd put up. It wasn't his first choice. After all, he'd have preferred the people had known it was Loki making all the appreciated changes to Asgard, not Odin. Now wasn't the time to dwell, though. Thor was standing behind him, big and angry and waiting for an explanation.

"Where's Odin," his brother growled, taking a threatening step towards Loki.

He gave Thor one of his winning smiles and opened his hands out wide. He wasn't sure what to tell Thor. Odin had disappeared four years ago, now, and he'd seen neither hide or hair of him since. _And bugger all to the old man,_ he thought. _I could have used a little help…an announcement of his decision to pass on the throne, at the very least!_ So he tried to stall. "You just couldn't stay away, could you?" In truth, he'd wished Thor had come more often. "Everything was fine without you…" _I only forgot who I was…_ "Asgard was prospering. You've ruined everything."

Thor would not be distracted, though. "Where is Father? Did you kill him?" He bared his teeth at Loki, and in his fear, Loki pumped more of Odin's power into Thor. Not realizing how much he was draining from himself. When Thor started shaking his head, trying to clear his mind of a sudden fog, Loki spoke again.

"You had what you wanted," he spat, jealous of all the freedom Thor had been afforded these past four years while he shouldered the burden Odin had left him with. "You had the independence you asked for." Honestly, what more did Thor want from him? He should be grateful, and not this looming, crazed creature he had before him. Thor clearly didn't see things as he did, and as his brother advanced, Loki quickly retreated to the divan he'd brought out for himself. When Mjolnir touched that wound on his chest, however, he'd had enough. "Ow," he voiced, hoping Thor would come to his senses. It was only when he realized the light feeling in his body that he sensed he may have accidentally charged Thor up with too much of the Allfather's powers and awakened the exact feeling he'd been trying to keep from his brother. When Mjolnir continued to press on his chest, he cried out again. "Ow, ow, ow! Okay," he hissed. Thor seemed to come back to himself after that, and stepped away from Loki, dropping Mjolnir to the floor. He stared at the younger prince in shock, frightened by the urge that had taken over him. Loki heaved a sigh of relief. "I know exactly where he is," he lied.

"Loki," Thor moaned, turning away from him. "What have you done?"

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Loki remembered crashing on some awful trash heap of a planet, dazed and confused. He remembered being dragged before some man in a robe, not terribly dissimilar to the ones he'd worn as Odin. And he remembered his own name. Beyond that, things were trickling back in slowly, and he was pretty sure he'd been drugged.

"Hello, precious," the robed man purred. Loki slunk back away from him, grateful that his clothes had survived his fall in-tact, until he realized they weren't his clothes. Odin's death suddenly bubbled to the surface of his mind and his heart gave a painful lurch. Loki cleared his throat.

"Where am I?" he questioned.

"Oh, aren't you funny," the man replied. When Loki didn't respond, the man seemed perplexed. "You really don't remember?" Loki shook his head. "Oh, and we were having so much fun, pet," he frowned. "Well, do you at least remember me?"

"I'm sorry, no." Loki began to panic a bit. Who was this man who seemed to know him? Finally remembering Thor, he wondered if his brother here as well? Or perhaps Hela had killed him by now… How long had he been here?

"Well, I'm the Grandmaster, and you've been here a few days, sweetie," he crooned. "We've been having an awful lot of fun!" Loki thought he'd remember something like that. "You're on Sakaar."

His face fell when the trash heap planet finally registered; the name echoing like surround sound in his mind.

Sakaar was…disgusting…run by this psychopath. He'd caught the eye of some trash gang and ended up in the hands of the Grandmaster. And the Grandmaster had figured out he was holding just under half the power of the Allfather. Something in him recognized Loki's power…the power that still licked at his veins and asked him to come play. The power he strove so very hard to ignore, most of the time. The man had plied him with drugged beverages and gently nudged the ancient power Loki held inside of him. "Wouldn't it be so FUN to just…let go, Lolo?" he'd encouraged. "Just let that power do its thing. It feels so wonderful!" Loki had almost thrown himself off a balcony that night to keep that frightening thought at bay.

"Oh, honey…" The Grandmaster shook his head. "Maybe you need to work up to partying with us here," he conceded. Loki felt sick. What did this man think he was here for? "You'll get it," he winked. "In time." He turned from Loki to the woman at his right. "Topaz, heh…take Lolo to my favorite relaxation spot." Loki wanted to protest. He'd rather fight his way out than be conditioned to be an amusement for the mad man before him. When he reached for his magic, though, a feral grin met him from the Grandmaster. "Oh, my little prince," he soothed. "I, ah, I wouldn't…if I were you," he suggested, steepling his fingers in front of his mouth. And just like that, Loki had already given up. This time, he was sick.

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The next time he even remembered Thor was when he showed up two weeks later on Sakaar. At least, he thought it had been two weeks. His brother was strapped in to some kind of moving metal chair that kept him confined with the Grandmaster's own special blend of magic. He had eyed those chairs a few times, but been grateful he'd never been in one, personally. At least, not that he could recall. That thought was even more troubling. What if he had been in one and whatever he was doing with the Grandmaster had taken the memory completely out of his head? These were the thoughts that kept Loki up at night. He hadn't had a decent night's sleep since he'd gotten to Sakaar. No one to trust, so many people to mourn, enemies everywhere. It was a nightmare he couldn't have dreamed up for himself but knew without a doubt would be just the type of scenario he'd be thrown into. His luck had never been that good. So when he told the Grandmaster he'd never seen Thor before in his life, he'd said it with a small amount of truthfulness. This place was ruining his mind bit by bit, and the longer he stayed under the Grandmaster's thumb, the quicker he'd be lost entirely. Forget Odin's power taking him over. The man enjoyed toying with people's minds. The more unbalanced you were, the more fun the despot had. And there would come a time, Loki knew, where the Grandmaster would succeed. He would become so unhinged that he'd unleash everything the lunatic pushed him to and lock his sanity away forever. With that in the forefront of his mind, Loki made sure to keep his hands and Odin's powers to himself. If the Grandmaster got whiff of what Thor held inside him, unknowingly, there's no telling what he'd do with him. So he'd made up some story for Thor, played up his brother's battle skills with the Grandmaster, and things seemed to work themselves out. It was a damned miracle.

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When Thor had fought that green beast, he'd nearly had a coronary right on that stupid plastic couch. It took every bit of self-control Loki possessed not to flood Thor with more of the Allfather's powers, because there was no way Sakaar's ruler would miss that kind of a power transfer. But there was also no way Thor would have been able to safely handle the rest of it from Loki. When he went to visit him later, in those grimy cells, he couldn't stand to be there in any more than an illusory manner. He was supposed to be getting entertained by some of the Grandmaster's nude artists, at the moment, but he needed a break from all that flesh and paint. And talking with Thor was a welcome respite.

"What are you doing, Loki?" Thor snapped, as he nursed some wounds from his fight with Hulk. Just as Loki was going to respond, someone came up to his physical body and painted a big wet stripe of paint down his cheek. He hid the grimace as quickly as he could in a smile while the Grandmaster patted his knee. Thor threw something at his illusory body.

"I'm here to see if you're alright." Loki tilted his head to the side. "You seem mostly intact."

Thor snorted. "I would be better if your new best friend hadn't thrown the fight," he sang. Loki scowled.

"He is no friend of mine, Thor. I find him as repulsive and psychotic as they come," Loki sighed, looking away. Back with the Grandmaster, someone had taken to opening his leather tunic and was using his bare chest as a canvas. All the gratuitous touching turned his stomach, but instead of pushing them away, he just accepted another drink from the mad man. He was distracted enough that his illusion shivered in disgust. Thor's brow furrowed.

"I'll ask you again, brother, what are you doing?" Loki looked to him quickly before looking away.

"You don't want to know, Thor," he shuddered. Thor sobered up pretty quickly and ran his hands through his shorn hair, not expecting to come up empty. He roared, grieving for the loss before he turned his eyes back to Loki.

"I'm pretty sure I worked it out, brother," he growled. "I'm not talking about what you're up to at this very moment," he clarified. "I'm talking about what you did for the last four years." Loki was stunned at Thor's perceptiveness.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," he smoothed out. Thor gave him that 'did you seriously just try that with me?' look and Loki rolled his eyes.

"I'm assuming Father gave his power over to you," Thor hedged. When Loki crossed his arms and said nothing, he continued. "I also assume you've been handling it well, or else I would have come back to a very different scenario, I believe." Thor smirked, sadly, and Loki's illusory form leaned back against the wall, not wanting to think about the alternative to holding Odin's power at bay.

"I haven't been 'handling it well,' as you say," Loki grumbled. "I've been slowly siphoning it off to you whenever you'd come to visit," he confessed. Thor stared up at Loki in earnest, his jaw hanging open.

"Are you serious?" he sputtered.

"Of course I'm serious. Do you know how difficult it was to not be completely consumed by the powers of the Allfather? I nearly lost myself towards the end, there…" Thor groaned.

"I knew it!" Thor exclaimed. "I knew something weird was going on. Every time I came back, I felt stronger, but sometimes I would find myself craving more of something I didn't think I'd ever had in the first place…" he muttered.

"Well, that was mostly my f-f-f-" Loki turned his head quickly and closed his eyes. He bit his lip to stifle the moan that wanted to escape. _It must be some kind of edible paint_ , he panted. _Do not look, Loki. You do not need that kind of image in your head…_ he chastised himself. Thor was calling his name, but he had to focus quite hard to keep his illusion going. In the end, he had to look. He turned his attention to the nude artist show to see some kind of unknown alien parts slithering over his chest, following the trails of the paint up to his neck and he shivered. When the things slithered near his ear canal, he dropped the illusion entirely, leaving Thor by himself. He looked over to the Grandmaster, imploring him to stop this before something crawled its way into his body.

"There you are!" The Grandmaster smiled and clapped his hands together. "I was wondering if, ah, something had captured your, ah, your attention," he warned. "Now, just relax. This is the best part!" he crowed. The little parasites were sucking on the pulse points on Loki's neck and he felt paralyzed in his seat.

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It wasn't until much later that night when Loki returned to Thor. The rest of his evening had been full of the Grandmaster's favorite pleasure arts, which he had been overjoyed to share with Loki, and the young prince felt exhausted and utterly drained. He almost hadn't returned to Thor, but he needed to finish their conversation.

"Where did you go?" Thor whispered, sick with worry. He looked over Loki's illusion, like he'd be able to pick out something wrong with his physical body. Loki floated over to him and sat down, cross-legged, hovering a few inches from the floor. Even his illusory body didn't want to touch any part of the cell Thor was in.

"I needed to focus on what was actually going on around me," he sighed. "I couldn't divide my focus anymore." Thor stared at him in worried shock. It was rare for something like that to happen with Loki. But extreme stress and dubiously consented situations were a pretty high distraction for him. "Now, there's two things we really need to discuss," he deflected, choosing to change the subject. In exchange for his company tonight, Loki had been able to get Thor moved out of the dingy cells and into something worthier of a prince of Asgard. He wasn't sure exactly where he was being moved, but if Loki needed to wheedle something better, he could do it again… "The first, I've been able to convince En Dwi to move you from this dirty place to something a lot nicer." Thor glared at Loki. It didn't matter how many times Loki called his brother a big dumb ox; he was still quite intelligent. Maybe not always on the same level as Loki, but he had certainly caught on to how things worked on Sakaar, and had likely already guessed that Loki's sudden departure earlier had to do with this "convincing" he'd accomplished.

"You should not have done so, brother," he growled.

"Oh, please," Loki scoffed. "This place is disgusting. A little upgrade was nothing. The Grandmaster was happy to indulge me," he puffed. Thor slumped even further against the cell wall.

"Look what has become of the sons of Odin." Loki shifted uncomfortably.

"Surely this is better than the wedding on Jotunheim," he joked. Thor pouted.

"No… It is worse. There is no hammer to reclaim this time, and you are not even fighting by my side. My hair is gone, now, too. We don't have any backup from Asgard. There's no Bifrost to carry us home. Our sister is likely destroying Asgard right now, so, there may be nothing to go home to… How is this better?" Loki chewed on his bottom lip.

"You're not in a wedding dress this time…" he tried. Thor made an agreeing noise in the back of his throat.

"There's that…" He took a deep breath. "What else did you want to discuss?"

"Odin's successor," he shrugged. Thor stared at him, not sure what to say. Loki cleared his throat. "At the moment, you hold over half the powers of Allfather." Thor was surprised. He didn't think there had been too much of a transfer between them. Loki played with his hands before moving on. "I may know how to rule…I may be an excellent statesman…but I cannot be the Allfather, Thor. Odin cared not what I did with the powers, so long as he no longer held that burden. But I cannot carry it for much longer, brother. If I kept them for myself, I would cease to exist." Loki conjured up an illusion of Nidavellir for Thor, the ancient home of the Dwarves, and their incredible forge. "For me, the full weight of the Allfather's powers are like standing in the way of the iris on Nidavellir," he explained, pointing to where he meant on his illusion. Thor's brows furrowed as he frowned. "It's incredible power, but the tap is always running full force." Thor scrubbed at his face, trying to think of an alternate solution for Loki. If it was truly as bad as that, he didn't want his brother to have to keep Odin's magic any longer. "I am very skilled in magic, Thor. But it's too much of a temptation. I'd follow that magic wherever it wanted and never come up for air. And in that moment, I'd lose myself. It's why I've shared it with you. Because it got easier and easier to say no the less and less of it I controlled." Thor nodded.

"I agree with you, Loki. It's too much to ask you to do this for Father, for me, for Asgard." Before he could continue, Loki held up a hand, so he let him speak.

"Do you want the throne, Thor?" he asked, seriously. "I've been giving you this power simply as a placeholder, not because I expect you to carry this burden instead of me. If you don't want it, we can find someone else. There's nothing that says we can't…" He looked at Thor while he waited for his answer, watching for any tell-tale signs of a lie.

"I admit, brother, I have not wanted the throne for some time, now." Thor sighed. "But Hela's arrival, and my crash-landing on Sakaar has changed my perspective a bit." Loki hummed, his lips forming a fine line, as he nodded. "I think I need to get off this planet and back with our people before I can truly make this decision." Loki averted his eyes as he continued to nod.

"That's smart," he agreed.

"In the meantime," Thor continued, "I don't mind taking more of Father's power from you, if you need me to." Loki felt relieved. Asking Thor if he even wanted Odin's power had been extremely stressful for him. He worried that Thor would say no, and ask Loki to take it all back. Now that the difficult part was through, he felt silly for his fears. Thor had seen him at the worst point of his addiction. He'd spent a year helping Loki get over it. If he helped him then, there wasn't a chance he'd let that happen to Loki all over again. His lips twitched up in a brief smile.

"It'll have to be one hell of a distraction for me to be able to give you anything without the Grandmaster noticing," he revealed, seriously. "I'm surprised he hasn't noticed how much of Odin's powers you hold. Honestly, I think it might just be because you haven't tapped into them at all. I'm not sure." _Or he just enjoys toying with me,_ he thought. "And that feeling you talked about earlier, about wanting more of something you didn't know you had? That's what happens when you get too much of a taste of the Allfather's powers. There was a time when I tested whether you would have the same reaction as me, and, maybe a few times when I was a little too…preoccupied to pay attention to how much I was giving away…" _Luckily, nothing terrible happened…_ he berated himself.

"Are you OK for now, then?" Thor questioned, earnestly.

"It would probably be better if I could give a little more away," Loki huffed, frustrated that he couldn't keep a better lid on the ancient powers. _It may even make me a bit less appealing to the Grandmaster's…..eccentricities._ "I'll see if I can escort you to your new quarters tomorrow. Perhaps the Grandmaster will think it's just me instead of me transferring anything to you."

"Perhaps?" Thor challenged. Loki shrugged one of his shoulders.

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They had talked at length about their plan to escape Sakaar. How best to fool the Grandmaster in case something were to go wrong. How to get Loki to Asgard with a large enough ship for their people, in case something awful had befallen the Bifrost. How they might fight off Hela. This was even before the addition of a Valkyrie and Bruce Banner to their cause. He may have looked like the enemy, but Thor and Loki were in this together and he was glad they had a few extras for their cause. When the power transfer on Sakaar had been successful between them, Loki had felt he could finally breathe easier on the trash heap. Thor held three-fourths of the Allfather's power, then, and had finally learned how to contact Heimdall. In all the commotion of their escape, a few days later, Loki had been able to transfer a bit more to Thor. Now they were standing aboard The Statesman, a ship Loki had been able to smuggle from Sakaar, their home was destroyed, and, once again, Loki had a big question he needed Thor to answer.

"Brother," he uttered, coming to stand next to him. "I know it has not been so long a time to consider, but we need to make this choice now. Do you want the throne?" Loki fiddled with his hands, worrying over Thor's decision. It would be a lot harder to find someone else to take Thor's place, but he deserved the choice. He'd given up a lot for Asgard, now. And would give up still more, if he chose to take on the role of King. When Thor was silent, he rambled on a bit to fill the gap. "I don't know how vital Gungnir was to the throne, but I'm sure we can have a new weapon fashioned for whomever takes up the mantle of the Allfather…" Thor placed a hand on his shoulder to quiet him and looked over at Loki.

"You're right, brother. It has not been so long a time to consider. But I cannot imagine choosing any other path, any longer." Thor smiled at Loki, feeling like a great burden had lifted from his mind. He had expected to take the throne for most of his life, and when he was released from that, he spent two blissful years doing whatever he felt like, another year helping Midgard through another crisis, and the last year missing Jane and his sense of purpose within the Nine realms. It had felt great to be free of Asgard, for a time, but Loki asking him if he wanted the throne had put a deep sense of calm in his bones.

It had almost been unsettling how quickly his mind latched onto the idea again. Thor started laughing, catching Loki's worried face. Things just suddenly seemed a lot clearer. Despite the complete annihilation of Asgard, he felt lighter. All the deception from Loki, his father, Sakaar, Asgard itself…it all died with Ragnarok, and he got to forge a new path for himself and for Asgard. One that didn't have to follow the rules and traditions of the old. The future didn't have any plans in mind for Thor. His people had no idea what to do next. Ruling a kingdom-less people seemed a more exciting task than the one that would have previously presented itself, tied to the Realm Eternal and all its blood money. "Do not fret," he grinned. "I am well. I am simply thinking how much fun it could be. Did we not always dream of being pirates and outlaws, Loki?" Loki laughed alongside him.

"Yes," he smiled, "but I never imagined it would actually come true." Loki put a hand on Thor's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "You're sure about this, brother?" he asked, seriously. Thor took a deep, happy breath.

"Absolutely."

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After their conversation, Thor had gone off to get his eye looked after, and Loki had went off to prepare for the final transfer of Odin's powers. Ne needed to ground himself fully beforehand so he didn't overwhelm Thor. This would be the biggest exchange his brother would undertake, but he would be aware it was happening this time, and, hopefully, that would eliminate any issues. He only had the contract to consider, now, and to ask Heimdall to watch over the exchange. A witness wasn't necessary, but he felt the watcher should be included. He wanted someone else should be there, for Thor…and maybe a small part for himself. Not all of Asgard, of course. No one else knew Loki had been given the powers of the Allfather, even if they may have drawn that conclusion on their own. Thor would go before the rest of the survivors after the exchange. That would be best, in case anything went wrong. Loki meditated, a sly smile on his face. Yes, this contract would be fun to craft indeed.

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"Loki," Thor complained. "What is the meaning of this?" Heimdall stood in a separate room beside Loki as Thor approached.

"The final exchange, brother, if you're ready," he smirked.

"I would say yes, but you're looking rather mischievous, and I'm not sure I want to go through with this anymore," Thor reproached. Heimdall laughed.

"Everything should be fine, my prince. After all, a witness to such a magical contract is not necessary, but I have been invited none-the-less." He bowed his head at the two of them as Loki's smirk broke out into a grin.

"Exactly! Now, it has been an awfully long time since I had a decent night's sleep, so, please get over here so we can get this over with." Loki sighed.

Thor walked up to them. "Is this really necessary?" he questioned, as Loki groaned.

"Yes, you fool. Or else I would not be doing it. Magical contracts are very specific and tedious. The one I made with Odin had mostly been a joke, but I think he was desperate, and didn't really care for my flippant answers…" Heimdall coughed to cover a laugh, but Loki let it slide with a just a small glare in his direction. "He didn't really answer my question, but indicated I'd know the answer once I held the power for myself, and he was right. Without the contract, I could take the power back at any point. It recognizes me as the previous 'owner,' essentially, and it would answer the call of any to previously hold it without rightfully giving it up. The contract is to bind the magic to you." Thor nodded. "Have you ever entered into a magical contract before?" he asked, needing to know how much information Thor needed. When his brother shook his head 'no,' Loki sighed. "Ok. It starts with identifying very specifically who the contract is between. Some even go so far as needing to name all the aliases you go by. That's a little much for me, but if you prefer the specificity, I'll entertain it for you."

"Why is specificity needed?" Thor asked, confused. Heimdall spoke up, then.

"Just like any contract, unless one is specific, either party could find a loophole with what wasn't said," he explained. Thor hummed, eyeing Loki.

"I'll put something in to cover them all, how's that? I really don't want your ugly Midgardian comrade's nicknames of "Reindeer Games" and "Rock of Ages" joining my list of known aliases," he huffed. Thor grinned.

"Alright, if there's verbiage to cover them all, I will be satisfied," Thor agreed.

"Like I would try to break this contract," the younger prince scoffed. "OK, first, identify who the contract is between. Next, I lay out the terms of the contract and you agree to them." Heimdall cleared his throat rather loudly and Loki rolled his eyes. "Fine, I lay out the terms of the contract and you specify how you agree to each term," he sneered.

"For example?" Thor prodded.

"For example," Heimdall chimed in, "when one of Odin's terms was swearing to guard the nine realms, Loki answered…" Loki smiled menacingly, enjoying this immensely, for a change.

"I swore to send someone else." Thor gaped at him. "Don't look at me like that! It was a huge ask for Odin. He would take what he could get," Loki grumbled. Heimdall smirked at him, shaking his head. "Besides, those were such canned clauses. Honestly, if he had put ANY thought into it, he would not have made the term agreements he had." Loki crossed his arms over his chest. "You should feel honored I spent so much time thinking on this myself," he sniffed. Thor did not feel honored. He felt nervous. Entering into any kind of binding agreement with a known trickster seemed like a bad idea. But he was trying to think of how desperate Loki was, as well. The terms wouldn't be something Thor would flat out refuse, because Loki wanted this exchange more than anyone else present.

"Fine," Thor sighed. He had to agree with Loki. This was incredibly tedious. "Names, terms, what else?"

"I state what it is I am giving, when we bind the agreement. When I bound the agreement with Father, it was done with Gungnir. Since there is no symbol remaining for King of Asgard, you will simply have to do with me." Loki gestured to himself. "I am the last remaining symbol of the King of Asgard," he clarified.

"What does that mean?" Thor contended, confused. Heimdall wasn't sure what Loki meant with that, either.

"The power exists in my whole body, so, needs must," he sang. "You will have to embrace me, brother. A magical contract is not some kind of trifling handshake agreement." Thor grinned and shook his head.

"You can be so very dramatic, Loki," he remarked. "Is that finally all?"

"No." Thor groaned, loudly. "Sheesh! You'd think I was making you sit through five council meetings in a row," Loki carped at him. Thor just gave him a look that said, 'are you quite finished?' "At the end of all that, you bind the agreement with the saying 'so mote it be,'" Loki concluded.

"Alright, fine. Names, terms, your statement, you get your hug and I say 'so mote it be.' Sound right?" Loki nodded, but Heimdall held up a hand.

"I would suggest two points of clarification." He looked over at Loki who waved his hand for Heimdall to continue. "The first, the contract exists up until the death of one or both parties. In the case of the giver perishing first, the gift remains intact, but the terms no longer apply. In the case of the receiver perishing first, the gift returns to the person who facilitated the contract." The two nodded in understanding and Heimdall looked over to Loki once more. "Have you set up a contingency for if you both should perish simultaneously?"

"Norns forbid," Loki ground out. "Yes. In the unlikely event neither Thor nor myself are able to give the powers to anyone else, I have designated for them to find the most worthy among the nine and lead them on a wonderfully circuitous quest to find an object that will be imbued with the powers of Allfather." Heimdall chuckled as Thor shook his head. "Currently some child on Midgard has been identified. Peter Parker." Loki gagged. "I was hoping it would find someone on Muspelheim, just for the irony." No one said anything. "Too soon?" Loki's lips formed a fine line as he nodded his head. "What was the second clarification?" he asked Heimdall.

"The terms for breaking the contract," he put forth.

"You should know as well as I, gatekeeper, the terms for breaking a contract are not decided by either party, but by the type of contract itself," Loki retorted. Heimdall nodded.

"What's the big deal?" Thor threw out.

"Thor, there is no lesser contract I can enter into with you, simply because of the nature of what I am giving. I wish it were not so," Loki confessed. "If you were to break the terms, you would be branded an oath-breaker, stripped of the gift I give, and unable to receive it again." Loki played with his hands. "In some rare cases, the Norns have been known to boil the very blood in your veins…" he trailed off.

"Great," Thor deadpanned. He closed his eyes, massaging his scalp. "Well, there's no way around it, so I guess, let's just get on with it." Loki gave him a nervous look, wishing there was another way. These types of magical contracts always made him anxious. It was why he rarely made use of them. But the role of Allfather was one of sacred oaths and ancient powers, no matter how Loki downplayed it. It demanded nothing less than an ultimate sacrifice to be upheld. Thor was right, though. There was nothing to be done, and if his brother was still willing, he needed to let his fears go.

"As a reminder, brother, this will be the biggest power transfer we've done. So…I guess, just be prepared for that. Hopefully everything works out fine. I mean…Odin planned to give it to you all at once six years ago, anyways… So, you should be fine," he finished, lamely. "But this is also the reason we're doing this here and not in front of everyone," he mumbled. Thor placed a hand on the back of Loki's neck in reassurance.

"I understand, brother. If something goes wrong, at least I am with people who will work to help fix things," he stressed, silently communicating to Loki that he had wished to have been there for him, when he fell from the Bifrost those six years ago. Loki smiled and pulled Thor's hand away.

"Alright. Shall we begin?" he appealed. Heimdall nodded, standing the large Bifrost sword upright, his hands resting on its hilt. Thor nodded as well, taking a deep breath and saying a quick prayer to the Norns.

"Yes," he smiled. Loki nodded, holding his own hands out to the side and closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, his pupils were blown wide, and Thor could feel the magic permeating the air.

"Thor, son of Odin, Scion of all Asgard, God of Thunder, the Lightning-Giver, the Thunderer, Sparkles, Odinson." Loki's voice seemed to come from deep within, but even amidst the heavy magic, he still found a way to tease Thor. Thor cleared his throat as Heimdall raised an eyebrow at him. "Et. all known aliases…does hereby enter into agreement with one Loki Laufeyson, God of Mischief, Son of Secrets, Lie-Smith, Silvertongue, rightful king of Jotunheim, son of Frigga…..Odinson…" he stared hard at Thor, "et. all aliases, known and unknown." Thor nodded his assent.

"Aye," he replied.

"Do you swear to use this power safely and appropriately?"

Thor thought for a moment before he responded. "I swear to use sound judgement and wise counsel in my duties, as these terms mean to me." Loki smirked. Thor was catching on well.

"Do you swear to reach out to someone with the absolute ability to help if these powers ever become too much for you?" This one was easy for Thor to promise, and he understood why Loki included it.

"I swear."

"Do you swear to think things through before acting; to not use this power rashly?"

"As much as I am able," Thor agreed, knowing he could never make such an absolute claim when it came to his temper. Loki shook his head in exasperation but accepted it.

"Do you swear to use this power to care for those around you and not simply for your own good?" Thor noticed Loki did not forbid the use of the power for his own good. For how could he, when it was such a part of his nature? The terms he'd set forth seemed like such a spit in the face of Odin's high moral'd speech on Thor's botched coronation day six years ago, but it was also so very Loki. There was no swearing to do a duty of guarding the nine, no promising to keep peace, not even a promise to give up his own ambitions in favor of others. It was a contract that accepted that people err'd, but that they should also strive to be better. And more than that, that no one should be slave to something simply due to a duty they'd chosen.

"I swear," he promised.

"Then on this day, I, Loki, son of Laufey, son of Odin, King of Asgard, Shape-Changer, Maker of Mischief, Lord of all Liars, do proclaim Thor Odinson, son of Frigga, God of Fertility, the Golden-Avenger, Hammer-Thrower, Storm-God, Longbeard's Son, to be King of Asgard, and protector of the nine realms, with all the powers and station that belong with that title." Loki threw his arms open wide as his body glowed a bright golden color. The magic of Allfather glimmered over his skin, waiting for Thor to accept it. The two brothers smiled at each other, still amazed at the journey they'd survived the past six years, and as Thor embraced Loki with a bone-crushing strength, the two sighed in relief. It was all over.

"So mote it be," Thor whispered, letting Loki go, but clasping his forearm in a sign of fidelity. After a few moments, when all seemed to be well, the two let go. Heimdall shook Thor's hand, and left the brothers alone. "You were a fine king, Loki. You may not have watched the other nine realms, but Asgard did prosper," he radiated, proud of what his brother had been able to overcome and accomplish. Loki looked down towards the floor.

"Thank you." He smiled, feeling peaceful for the first time in many years.

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The weight of the past four years had finally been pushed out of Loki, and it felt good to be standing on the other side. Odin had been right. He had been ready to take on the Allfather's power, in one sense, but the addiction it called to would always be with him, and in that sense, he'd never be ready. It felt like years had been added back to his life, and he didn't know how Thor could handle it all. Maybe Odin was right, that Thor was simply stronger. The power had been part of his forbearers, where it had not been for Loki. Whatever the reason, the vice-like grip it had held over his soul was gone, and the world that had seemed hopeless before, seemed full of possibilities, now. He was almost beaming, vibrating with energy, as Thor walked through the aisle of what remained of Asgard to come sit in the captain's chair before them all. It wasn't a grand throne like he would have been afforded on Asgard, but he knew Thor would like his pirate-king chair probably more than all that splendor. Valkyrie stood next to him as Thor sat down with way too much awkwardness.

"What's with you?" she queried, sounding bored.

"Thor and I always dreamed of being pirate king outlaws," he announced. Valkyrie snorted, taking a long swig from a flask she had hidden on her belt. Loki grinned, thinking again to his future. He was young yet. If he truly missed it, he could always claim Jotunheim. Thor looked to Loki, catching that last bit of mischief twinkling in his eyes.

"Whatever you're planning brother, it's likely no good," he warned. Loki just laughed.

"I'm coming up with your pirate king name. Now, out of my chair," he joked, elbowing Thor in his arm. Thor grinned and elbowed him right back, choosing to focus on happier times and the brand new future they had ahead of them.

"So, King of Asgard. Where to?" Heimdall asked.


End file.
